The UN human rights office warns of worsening violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, and urges international action against the killing of Palestinians as well as the creation of settlements, which it says has reached an all-time high.
According to United Nations figures, 18 Palestinians have been killed in incidents linked to settler attacks so far this year, compared with 17 in the whole of 2025.
“Settlers and Israeli security forces, often acting together, have attacked local communities, assaulting families, destroying and confiscating property, and burning mosques,” Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, says in a statement.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to have privately referred to growing settler violence as a “metastasizing cancer,” while in public comments he has called it a fringe phenomenon carried out by a small handful of extremists.
Shin Bet figures reported yesterday by Army Radio showed the number of such attacks significantly increasing in the first half of 2026.
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From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, July 29, 2026
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